Arctic Survival Training & Expeditions in Finland with Albert Weckman

 AdventureDiaries.com/GO

Join us as we revisit the most thrilling moments from Season 4 of the Adventure Diaries Podcast! In this highlights reel, Albert Weckman takes us through his incredible solo expedition across the Arctic wilderness of Finland. From surviving in -20 degree temperatures with minimal gear to capsizing in freezing rapids, this episode is packed with lessons on resilience and the raw beauty of nature.

Full Episode With Albert Weckman

Chapters:

• 0:00 - Introduction
• 0:27 - Survival Training - Minus 20 Degrees
• 2:29 - Capsizing in the Rapids
• 4:22 - Lake Crossing Challenge
• 4:37 - 40kg Backpack Journey
• 7:22 - Random Encounter with Bosnians
• 8:12 - Call to Adventure

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Transcript

As we prepare for the launch of the Adventure Diaries Podcast, season five at the end of February, 2026, we're revisiting the highlights and called adventure from each episode in Season four to keep you entertained and inspired to get you outdoors. Now, here are some of those short highlights from my episode with Albert Weckman and his adventures across Finland.

Enjoy.

Survival Training - Minus 20 Degrees

 We had our last survival training just before I finished the wheel dress guide program in Swedish lab plant in winter. And that was one a week minus switch degrees. No sleeping bag, no, no food, no nothing. We just had a a knife, fire, steel, the clothes on your body, and then we had the blanket, but the blanket only covered up until to my, basically my legs.

 Was, that was maybe, I would say my most interesting. That was the toughest experience that I'd had for at least the coolest experience

  I would say that the biggest problem or challenge in, when we speak about survival situations, we, many people think about bear rails running wild or these fiction based survival situation. But the matter of the fact is that most of survival is quite boring. The most challenging part is when you're sitting there alone and especially up north when it gets dark around 4:00 PM and light comes back around 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM And for instance, we had no headlamps.

So when you were sitting there alone after 4:00 PM and of course during the first night, I didn't even manage to get a fire going. So you are just sitting there by yourself for 16, 17 hours and it's minus 20 degrees outside you just 

thinking to yourself that, was this a good plan or not best split? That was, that was educational, I would say. when I arrived to Humma Lincoln Wilderness Area, which is just basically mount of swamps and rivers. I came to my first fast running water or first rapids with this, everything just to have in the water and I had to dive after it and just pick up, pick everything up one piece at the time.

 And of course there was nothing else I could do. I could just save the situation and drag everything to shore. It went away, but still, I got the camera out and my camera equipment, it, it was gone

Capsizing in the Rapids

 Everything was going quite well in the, this north northeastern part of my expedition with, which was this VA wilderness area, and then I crossed lake in woods, minor bumps, but still everything was going quite smoothly. When I arrived to Humma Wilderness area, which is just basically mount of swamps and rivers, I came to my first fast running water or first rapids, and I looked at the rapids and I thought to myself, I can handle this.

This is such a small stream of water. It was about about 50 20 meters wide, and you had some white water, but it wasn't that much. It was not deep at all. So I stepped out of my pack crafts, and then I just took a car by and rope and started to drag it across the stream. But of course I was tired full of myself and my capability, so the stream took the back rest and just capsized the whole thing.

This was the only time I had my camera out or it's drive back. With this, everything just fell in the water and I had to dive after it and just pick up, pick everything up one piece at a time. And of course there was nothing else I could do. I could just save the situation and drag everything ashore, and I lost a few items.

What's actually quite annoying that I actually lit litter in nature because I think my water bottle was lit there in one of my, I think my right sock also just, it went away. But still, I got the camera out and my camera equipment that it, it was gone for the moment, so I could not use it anymore. And I must say that I used a few curse words in that situation. not use it anymore. I must say that I used a few curse words in that situation.

  Lake Crossing Challenge

Paddling across Finland's, third largest lake with a pack craft, fully packed with who were 40 kilos of equipment. I could say that was an interesting experience. Uh, in the middle of that, I just thought to myself, was this a good idea?

 
40kg Backpack Journey

I tried to, before when I was planning and packing everything, I, I really tried to think about the grams, so to speak.

I'm actually, this is my weakest point when I go hiking, always bring too much year too much clothes and every, but even though I like survival, and that is I think why I survival because you just bring your knife and fire still and let me go out. But in terms of my backpack, the first time I put it on my back during day one, again, I thought to myself this was not good plan because it was over 40 kilos.

And I, myself, I weigh 72 kilos, so it's. From that perspective, it's horrible. During the first, and actually in the beginning, during my first day alone, I hiked, I actually, that was one of the stretch stretches that I actually, I thought that I had more energy than I had, and also it was  The thing is that the planning, even though the planning was, I would say quite easy, some things you can always do things better and I tried to, the most important part for this in terms of planning was to safety issue and that is always something that you cannot exaggerate it because when you are alone out in the these large, vast wilderness area without cell reception, you would really need to think every step that you take, especially with a large Mac factor in your back and you are exhausted and not, maybe not thinking straight and maybe you have been sleeping, you slept for two hours, and then you start again.

Then you just push yourself. really war. It was, I think 26 degrees Celsius outside, even up in Lapland.

 And actually one of the bigger problems or challenges I would say up north. And now as also, I think you're familiar with it from your area, the amount of mosquitoes, 

that was actually really educational. Again, be horrible when I was walking the forest and actually during the first day.

So I thought that there's still one month to go, but everything. Nigro. I think the same thing is every time I go hiking, every time we have a longer, let's say one and a half, two weeks that we are out in the wilderness, the first day is always the toughest 'cause you are not used to the weight on your back.

You are not used to walking that long. After a week, it's not the problem anymore. You get your blisters, you go through everything and you learn from your mistakes. And interestingly enough, you always make the same mistakes every year. So that's at least some of them because Yeah, I guess you get comfortable in between.


Random Encounter with Bosnians

I was just battling my last stretch of lake and suddenly there was two Bosnian guys sitting in a rowing boat fishing. 

Then I forced pad 

pedal to them in the middle of the wilderness and I asked that, hello guys, and how are you? And they were, apparently they were not lost, but they did not really have a plan.

Let's put it back way, however, they had food. And I asked them that, could I buy some snacks from them because my candy storage was, and they actually handed me a Snickers and a beer. That was an awesome moment. And actually after that beer, I almost, I almost felt drunk. So luckily I was just ending my paddling session because that's also due to exhaustion and, and tiredness of course.

But that was, yes, that was a random encounter and that was really fun.

  Call to Adventure

So a call to adventure. So an opportunity for you to raise or a recommend, an adventure activity, a place or something for people to be inspired by. So what would you say is a call to adventure? 

I would highly recommend people because I know that among people that listen to your podcast, I guess the Nordic countries are not, that they may might not be that familiar with the large wilderness areas that we have and the nature that we have up here, up north and, and we also have this freedom to roam, which means that you are actually, it's a good possibility if you like to do hiking and just, it doesn't mean that you need to go out for a two week hike or a one week hike and just drive around, drive around the areas.

And that's something, actually a call for adventure that I would like to recommend that to, to visit the Nordic countries. 

Yeah, 

it's a really a sparsely populated area with a lot to see as you've been to. 

Yeah. Yeah. I've been to Finland, Sweden, and Norway, and I just love the Nordic countries. I'd love to do a bit of an over landing trip, get over the car and just get right up to.

Up to maybe Nord cap or something like that in traverse the different countries. 

I would also like to add that call to adventure. This is actually something I'm actually try to emphasize that I think we are too focused on buying the best equipment and that you need the best equipment in order to go outside and, and you need the most expensive temps or clothing that that's not the case can easily just take what you have or borrow something from.

Because some people that are interested in this kind of hobby or being out in nature, they believe that they need more than they actually need in terms of gear. So I think just go out and try it yourself and start small

 so I hope you enjoyed these short highlights from my episode with Albert Weckman, and if you haven't listened to the full conversation with Albert, then go ahead and do that and I'll put the link to the full episode in this show notes. Now, if you are enjoying the Adventure Diaries Podcast, could you consider leaving a quick rating or a review?

Leaving a quick rating of review really helps to show more than you think, and helps surface the podcast to a wider audience, and I would really, really appreciate that.

And one last important update, which you may have heard already with the launch of season five, I am launching a new Patreon on the same day with one simple single tier, $5 or three pounds, 70 as exchanges. And if you. Enjoy the show and want more behind the scenes content. Some of the after show content with our guests q and a and a new monthly extended newsroom episode sprinkled with occasional short audio stories as well, and the opportunity for meetups.

There will be two per year, then you can head over and sign up on Patreon. It hasn't launched yet, so the content isn't there. But if you go to adventure diaries.com/go, you can sign up for free and get ready for when it launches with all that content at the end of February, 2026. So adventure diaries.com/go.

Click on the Patreon button. Uh, and that's it for this, uh, episode. So look out for the next set of highlights, which are coming from Tom Tousi and his incredible seven year world walk with his dog savanna. What a heartwarming and epic episodes. And those are just the highlights. So look out for that piece.